Choices
by jacqs30
Summary: Life is all about choices. So what happens when Elena is given the chance to change the choice she made that fateful night before her and Matt's accident?
1. Chapter 1

It's totally against my "rules" to try writing two fanfics at once. However, my muse had other ideas and would NOT leave me be until I got this down on paper. I'm in the midst of a Klaroline fic but couldn't keep this from coming out as well. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter 1

Elena sat back against her headboard and looked at her friend. Bonnie had gone from jokingly calling herself psychic to an experienced and confident witch in a few short years. And what Bonnie was spelling out currently was more overwhelming than almost anything that had happened to Elena in the time since she lost her parents.

"I've been doing research and talking to Grams. Don't look at me like that, Elena. I'm not crazy. Grams is able to contact me because of all the unrest that's currently between this world and the other side."

"So your Grams is saying that my choice is why I became a vampire?"

"When you chose Stefan and told Matt to turn back towards Mystic Falls, you put yourself in Rebekah's path. She waited on Wickery Bridge to cause your accident. To take from the Salvatores someone who meant as much to them as Klaus meant to her."

"My fate was to become a vampire?" Elena was having a hard time grasping that she was meant to be in this suspended state between life and death.

Bonnie shook her head. "I didn't say that. Your fate was determined by your choice. Are you that positive that Stefan is the one you belong with?"

Elena stared at her friend incredulously. "You, of all people, are suggesting I should have chosen Damon?"

Bonnie sighed and struggled to keep from rolling her eyes. She loved Elena but at times her friend left her feeling complete exasperated. "Elena! This isn't about what I think. Or anyone else. This is about YOU. This is about the choice you made and if you think it was the right one."

"It doesn't matter if it was the right one. It's done, Bonnie. I am what I am."

"That's what I'm trying to get to. There is one way to reverse what you are."

Elena sat up, fully at attention now. "How? Why didn't you say so before? How?"

"Ok, calm down. You have two choices. You can leave things as they are; live your path with Stefan as a vampire."

"Well yes I think I am aware of that choice Bonnie." Elena was trying hard not to scream. She had been searching for weeks for a way to undo what had been done that night. She didn't want to be a vampire. At least not this way. She didn't choose this and wasn't at all prepared for it.

"The other choice is to re-live that night. Grams and the other witches on the other side have given me their blessing to send you back. You can go back to that night and change your choice."

"Change my choice? Do you mean choose Damon over Stefan?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yes, that's what I mean."

"But why? Why would they want me to do that?"

"They see your struggles right now. They understand that you are fighting your nature and they believe it may be because it wasn't your fate to become a vampire. You can stand by your original choice and live out your existence as a vampire with Stefan. Or you can go back, choose Damon and live as a human, at least for the time being. No one knows for certain what the rest of your future would be if you had chosen Damon that night."

"But Stefan gave me hope for a future when I had given up. He made me feel safe to open up to someone after I lost my parents."

Bonnie smiled at her friend. "He helped you heal."

Elena nodded emphatically. "Exactly!"

"And Damon?"

Elena thought a moment before saying, "He snuck up on me." She smiled before continuing. "I never expected to like him let alone…"

"Love him?"

Elena looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. "Yeah. I love him too. But Stefan…"

Bonnie reached across the bed and grabbed Elena's hands, willing her friend to meet her eyes. "I understand why you fell in love with Stefan. Why did you fall for Damon?"

Elena sighed heavily. "I'm not sure when it happened. I guess it was gradual. When I first met him, he was a jerk. He would say the same thing." She laughed. "Actually I think the description he uses is 'an ass'. But every now and then I saw the real him behind that swagger, that façade. He's been hurt, first by Katherine and then by me. Over and over again I have hurt him. But he loves me anyway. He's unpredictable. He's spontaneous. He's dangerous. I love those things about him but they scare me too."

"Do you trust him?"

"With my life." Elena was firm and sure as she said those words.

"With your heart?"

"Yes," she whispered.

Bonnie took a deep breath and exhaled. "Ok, promise you won't get mad at me for what I'm going to ask next."

Elena frowned. "You know it doesn't sound good when you start it out that way."

"Promise me."

Elena dreaded hearing what Bonnie had to say but knew she had to hear it. "I promise."

"Did you choose Stefan because he's safe and predictable? Maybe because you feel like you owe him your love because of what he did for you?"

"I love Stefan."

Bonnie smiled gently. "That wasn't the question."

Elena couldn't help but smile back as her friend called her out. "Fair enough. He is safe. He is predictable. He loves me and he has done so much for me. Damn. How did you get to be so smart, Bonnie Bennett?"

Bonnie laughed and shook her head. "It's a bit easier to be insightful when it's someone else. Don't ask me to be so smart when it comes to my own love life, such as it is."

"I have to go back, don't I?"

"That's up to you, Elena. I'm just here to make you the offer and if you decide that's what you want to do, I will send you back."

"Now?"

"If that's the right choice, why wait?"

Elena smiled. Either choice meant a Salvatore's heart was going to be broken. She had to do what was best for her. She thought of Stefan and then Damon and weighed the feelings that coursed through her at the thought of each brother. She loved Stefan. There was no doubt about that. But she was in love with Damon. She could see that now. It wouldn't be easy; Damon was too unpredictable and hot-headed for that to be possible.

She shook her head. Whoever said love was supposed to be easy? She knew what she had to do and she was ready. She was finally going to make the right choice.

"Send me back, Bonnie."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who has favorited this fanfic or reviewed it, I greatly appreciate it! Hope you enjoy chapter 2. **

Chapter 2

Elena shivered as she opened her eyes and saw Matt staring back at her. Bonnie had done it. She had sent Elena back to the moment before she had made her choice between Stefan and Damon. Matt was looking at her expectantly. He wanted to know if he should keep heading out of town, toward where Damon was or if she wanted him to turn back towards Mystic Falls and Stefan.

"I have to choose," she said as she pulled her phone from her pocket. It felt strange to be reliving a moment knowing her path was about to change drastically. And she was the only one who would know how it had originally played out except for Bonnie. Or would Bonnie know? She hadn't asked that. And that was fine, only the choice itself mattered right now.

She pressed the picture of her and Stefan on her phone and listed to the half a ring before he answered. As much as she dreaded hurting him she had to get this call done first. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm with Matt." She paused a moment, steadying her nerves before continuing. "I'm on my way out of town."

Silence filled the distance between them. Finally Stefan said, "You've made your choice then." it was a statement of fact, not a question.

"Yes. I love you Stefan. I always will. But it's not the kind of love that we both deserve."

"And you have that with Damon?"

Elena paused for a second, dreading the pain she was going to cause. "Yes. It's hard to explain but I owe it to myself and to the life you saved the night my parents died to take this chance. I have to see if it's as real as it feels right now."

"You don't have to explain. I guess I knew it as soon as I saw you two together. That's why I pushed you to explore it. I had to know if you chose me it was because I was the one you loved more, not because I was the safe one."

Elena felt her heart skip a beat as Stefan echoed the words Bonnie had said just before Elena made the choice to be sent back. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, Stefan."

She could feel him smile. "I know. That's why it's taken you so long to make this choice. I want you to be happy, Elena."

"Thank you. I want that for you too." Her eyes filled with tears but she knew she had finally made the right choice.

"Thanks. Once we know if our blood line is tied to Klaus, maybe I'll get that chance. Goodbye Elena."

He hung up before she could answer; she knew that Klaus wasn't really dead but she couldn't say that. She was certain that would be against the rules of the witches. She couldn't let anyone know she was back from the future. She took a deep breath and pressed Damon's picture to call him. "Hello Elena. Is this my farewell phone call?"

She smiled at his sarcastic opening. "No, actually it's me saying you better hold on until I get there, Damon Salvatore."

"What do you mean, get here?" He sounded genuinely perplexed.

"I'm on my way to you now." She felt a lump form in her throat as she realized he could die before she got to see him. She wanted to tell him face to face.

"Klaus has been dead for 45 minutes. May not be enough time for you to get here before…"

"Don't say that! Don't you dare give up on me." Elena felt desperate.

"What are you talking about Elena?"

Matt waved his hand and pointed. They had just pulled into the parking lot of the storage facility.

"Come outside now Damon! I'm in the parking lot." She unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out of Matt's truck even before it stopped moving. She ran toward Damon's car, parked near where she assumed he had entered the building.

He came around the corner, his phone still up to his ear. She ran straight to him and threw her arms around him. Surprised, it took him a moment to wrap his arms around her. "Elena, what's going on?"

"It's you Damon."

He pulled away from her slightly and smiled that sexy, crooked smirk of his. "Well yes, who did you expect?"

She smiled back. "Damon, listen to me. I'm saying it's you, I choose you."

The smirk disappeared instantly. His eyebrows furrowed together and she swore she saw tears welling up. "I'm not sure I understand."

She gently put her hands on either side of his face. "You're the one I want, Damon. I choose YOU." To prove her point, she pressed her lips against his, locking her eyes on his as she moved closer.

He locked his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. "Elena, are you sure?"

"I have never been surer of anything in my life. I love you Damon Salvatore."

He smiled back at her, his blue eyes sparkling in a way she had never seen before. "I love you too Elena Gilbert." And they sealed it with another kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry for the delay in posting. Between work and writer's block I have been pretty useless for creative writing lately. Hopefully this is changing starting now! Hope you enjoy chapter 3.**

Chapter 3

Damon closed his eyes as he held Elena close. He was afraid to open them, afraid this would all be a cruel dream. He heard her voice, she was talking but he couldn't make out the words at first.

"Damon, look at me. Damon?" Elena started to panic. His eyes were closed and she couldn't tell if he was in pain or becoming delirious. She knew that Klaus lived and nothing should be happening to him but he wasn't acting at all like himself.

Slowly he opened his eyes and saw her staring at him worriedly. "I'm ok, Elena," he whispered. "Just don't want to wake up if this is a dream."

She smiled and kissed him again. "It's not a dream Damon. I choose you."

"But why? I thought you loved Stefan. That it would always be Stefan. That's what you said."

Her eyes filled with tears as she heard the pain in his words. She had said that. But she hadn't understood what this vampire would come to mean to her when she spoke those words and broken his heart. Made him feel inferior to his brother again. "I know. I'm sorry for saying that. I didn't know then what would happen and how that would change. If I had I never would have said that. I love you, Damon. I'm in love with you."

He smiled. A true, genuine smile. "Say it again."

She laughed. "I love you Damon Salvatore."

He pulled her close and whispered, "Finally. I love you too Elena." He opened his eyes and saw Matt sitting in his truck watching them. "I think Matt is waiting for some kind of sign from you that everything is okay."

She looked over to her friend and smiled. She grabbed Damon's hand and pulled him toward Matt's truck.

He rolled the window down. "Anything else I can do before I head back to Mystic Falls?"

Elena shook her head then leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for everything Matt. I don't know what I would have done without you."

He smiled. "I just want you to be happy, Elena. If Damon does that, then I'm glad I could help."

Damon spoke up. "I know you don't like me much but I do love Elena and will do anything to make her happy and keep her safe."

Matt nodded. "I know. That's good enough for me."

Damon picked Elena up and whisked her to his car. "Where to, my lady?"

She smiled. "Somewhere quiet where we can talk."

He smirked. "Talk?"

She punched him in the shoulder. "Yes, talk. There's a lot you need to understand."

"Elena, I know you love me. That's all I need."

"There's more I want to explain. Just humor me, ok?"

He shook his head. "Ok, ok, whatever you say. One quiet place to talk coming up. Get in."

She climbed into his car and buckled her seatbelt. She smiled at him as he squealed the tires speeding out of the parking lot.

She opened her eyes and looked around. "Where are we?"

"Georgia."

"Georgia?"

"Yep."

"You don't do anything halfway, do you?"

He chuckled. "Nope. Like that's a surprise to you." He turned into a gravel lot and parked beside a battered green pickup truck.

"Where are we? Other than Georgia."

"One of my favorite places on earth."

He got out of the car and walked to her side, opening and door and offering his hand. She smiled and shook her head. "Ok, I am all yours. Whatever you want to do."

"Oh really?"

"Damon! There's time for that. Later."

He smiled and pulled her with him toward the trail. "Come on, we need to hurry."

"Why?"

"Trust me."

"With my life."

They walked quickly up the path until Damon pulled her to the left. As they broke through the trees, Elena gasped. The view of the mountains was spectacular. But that paled in comparison to the colors spreading across the sky as the sun climbed just above the line where mountain met sky.

Damon pulled her back against him, wrapping his arms securely around her waist. "See?"

She nodded, tears in her eyes. "It's beautiful, Damon. Perfect."

"It's the start of a perfect day. You'll never know how happy you make me. After over 150 years of existing I finally know what it's like to be loved as much as I love someone else. You can't fully understand the gift you've given me."

Her tears fell freely. "I'm just sorry it took me so long to figure it all out."

"Shhh, don't. It only makes it sweeter."

Elena turned so that she was facing him. "I will love you forever."

"Forever is a long time. I'll settle for your lifetime."

"I don't know if that's enough." Elena couldn't believe she was thinking this way. She had been so sure just 24 hours ago that she was never meant to be a vampire. Bonnie had even said it. But now as she stared into the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen she had her doubts. She realized that being a vampire wasn't what was wrong. Not choosing Damon was what was wrong. Not consciously making the choice to become a vampire was what was wrong.

He watched her carefully as all of these thoughts crossed her mind and showed on her face. "Elena?"

"Damon, I want you to turn me."

"No, Elena, you're tired and not thinking clearly. You never wanted this."

"I didn't want this before. But I want it now. I want to choose this and choose forever with you. I want your blood. I want you to kill me. And I want you to help me transition."

He stared at her and saw the certainty in her eyes. His fangs extended and ripped into his wrist. She pressed her mouth against the wound and drank. She pulled away and smiled at him. "I want this." He nodded and reached up, snapping her neck and catching her as she fell.

He carried her to his car and drove until he found a small motel where he could wait for her to awaken. After checking them in, he pulled a blood bag from the cooler in the trunk and carried her inside. Within moments her eyes sprung open and she smiled at him. He smiled back and handed her the bag. She opened and drank, her body gaining strength as she felt the cool liquid travel down her throat.

She motioned Damon closer and wrapped her arms around him. "Now everything is perfect. We have forever."

Damon smiled and kissed her. "You never cease to amaze me. I hope you don't regret this."

"I won't. Everything feels right now. This is my destiny."

FIN.

**Ok this is an instance when a story completely took off in its own direction. I never expected it to end with Elena deciding to become a vampire and asking Damon to turn her. Hope you guys enjoyed this short ride – I hope to write more fanfic soon. Thanks for reading and all reviews!**


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